The Unwanted One

I slightly outpaced my bethinking companion, stepping first on a crossroad with high green hedge around it, and in the same second, a punch struck my ill-fated right side, nailing me to the ground. “F-fu-uck!” I hissed martyrly, curling up painfully and trying to put every limb on the wounded place at once reflexively. I’ve had a moment of deja vu: twenty-four hours ago I had met harmony and friendship in Ponyville in the same way, the only difference is that the road is not paved, so I saved my brow, and even didn’t bite the cheek. The strike got me very bad: not right into the side, but lower, where it passes into the belly — and this place, unfortunately, is a way more sensitive… Twi’s voice can be heard nearby, it seems like she’s reading somebody a lecture, but I didn’t pay attention — not the first priority, you know. After a few seconds, when the pain faded away a little bit, I started to scrape myself off the road. I wasn’t able to stand up at the first try and wasn’t able to do it myself — it was very unpleasantly to even move with the right legs, especially with the hind one, and attempts to lean on them added a new way of suffering to my already fucked life. A pink field of telekinesis, that enveloped me, was greeted by me with a thankful nod. Twilight, which helped me to stand up, nodded in answer and turned around to the, seemingly, reason of my bad general condition. “Oh…” I sighed painfully, trying to take the weight on the right legs. Damn it. It seems that I’d not escape the hospital for sure, and I think it’d be now. Two punches almost in one place in one day! Just my luck… “Twilight.” I spoke hoarsely. “When Celestia gives me an invitation to leave Canterlot — remind me to decline it. If I leave her castle, everyone tries to kill me everyday!” Tilting to a side and crippling with every leg, I came up to my companion and froze, drilling a hole in a pony that just was on the verge of killing me. E-ehm… I… I was expecting to see someone else. Don’t know whom, but not her for sure! Before Twi, just on the road, a well-known to me by the cartoon orange pegasus with dark-pink mane was examining the ground beneath her legs. A removed helmet was laying nearby, a scooter with broken handle and without one wheel. This is why I got nailed out of the blue… And by the springboard-looking bulge further on the road, it may be not an idiom. “Oops…” Filly reduced herself to atoms, when she heard my words and lifter her gaze. “M-miss Twilight…So yo… Your friend is… Is the Mare in the Moon?!” She said with fear, twitching like a leaf. It seems that this driver successfully had not seen who she’s flying at… Surprise. “Correct.” I assured, eying the pegasus from head to foot gloomily. She noticeably paled, and hesitated to stand up, but instead of running away, as I firstly thought, she uncertainly came up closer and bowed clumsily. “Forgive me, the Mare in the Moon, please, forgive me! I… I didn’t try to… You know… Kill you! It was an accident, it really was! I…I’ll bring the biggest of candies during Nightmare Night! Just… Just don’t send me to the Moon, please!” A pair of purple eyes gazed to me with hope, shining from tears. And how to be angry at her, how? “Nightmare Night doesn’t stop since my arrival. Even during day.” I pretended that I didn’t understand them. “She meant a holiday during October, Nightmare. Nightmare Night is its name.” Twilight explained. “I wish I knew how to celebrate it know when you’re here.” She ended half-whisper. “So you’ll forgive me?” The pegasus paid attention at herself shyly. “Please! I… I’ll gather two buckets of candies! It wasn’t on purpose, I’m not lying!” “Gather it first — then I’ll say my verdict.” I muttered tiredly. What to do with her, what? It would have been a lot easier if she had tried to talk her way out… “But for now — you can go. And yeah — if you do that again — you wouldn’t buy off yourself.” “I got it! Thank you, Mare in the Moon!” The pegasus bowed awkwardly once again. “Goodbye. Goodbye, miss Twilight.” Leaving the hapless driver to restore the “race car”, I somehow moved towards the local hospital with the lavender unicorn. “Nightmare…” Twilight called me after some time, thinking about something before. “No one tries to kill you! And I’m convinced that no one will!” “What are you talking about?” I didn’t’ get it, too busy with moving legs to minimize hellish pain in the side. “Well… You said that after your leave from Canterlot, everyone tries to kill you… But it’s false! Ponies do not do that! Do not this anymore.” Twi corrected. “I’ve read a lot of historic books and I know, that during the antiquity… Well….” She hesitated. “We had been practicing killing.” I hinted to her. Unicorn nodded shortly, swallowing fitfully. “Y-yes. I understand that for you it may be… M-m… I mean, for the time you had been in Equestria, it was…” Mare couldn’t find words again. Why is she so nervous? “Normal.” I hinted again. Magician lost her pace and twitched nervously, casting an eye on me with a mix of pity and dread. “Celestia forbid that it was… “Normal’!” Twilight twitched again. “Usual… A bad one as well…” She sighed. “Well, I hope you got it. So… Maybe it was a usual thing back then, but now ponies don’t do that! It’s awful! This is the worst crime of all!” “Yeah? What a shame, what a shame… Because… Oh my… I have the right mood to rip someone’s head off!” I bared my teeth crookedly. “Nightmare, no! Do not kill someone, please, I beg you! Don’t…” Laying ears back, Twilight looked at me with badly hidden dread, trying to step back in the same time. “It was a joke.” “A-a…” Mare froze for a few seconds, gazing hard into the space with a fixed glare. “What?! A j-joke?! I mean… No, Nightmare, killing is not a joke!” Exclaimed the scowled unicorn harshly when she was back in the real world. “No one messes around with such things! I almost… O-oh…” Twilight sighed with relief. Yea-ah… She’s gone crazy. I have a feeling that she didn’t even think that I’m just kidding. It seems that the locals don’t respect the topic of death and killings. Interesting thing — how would she react on a such usual thing for a student as “My mom will kill me”? Would she take it literally as well? I think I won’t check it… Be careful about your jokes here — just in case… “Yeah, you’re boring ones… Okay, good to know. I’ll try to not joke like this anymore.” “Thanks.” The lavender pony nodded slightly forcibly. The conversation died out at this point: Twilight was minding her own business again, I hadn’t the mood to talk at all. It looked like my feelings were brightly depicted on my face — I think I even got a few pitiful gazes from strangers… From the strangers who had the courage to even look at me. The way to the Ponyville’s stronghold of medicine took, by my feelings, five-ish hours: when we came closer to the building of the hospital, I was ferociously exhausted and tired: constant pain, playing on my nerves like on strings, was making me mad. Wounded side hurts, right legs hurt because of the wounded side, left ones — because of the need to always keep all my weight on them, brow hurts along in the ride. I, constantly swearing under my breath, was getting more nervous with every step. However, it became only worse when we’ve reached the hospital: stairs were leading to its high porch. The first stair steps made it clear, that walking on a flat surface, as it turned out, is very comfortable and does not hurt at all. Twilight helped me out, using her telekinesis once again. Unicorn didn’t have the strength to lift me up, but even a lesser weight helped me to somehow make it. Stopping at the porch to restore breath, I saw a mare through windows of the hall-door, making her way to the exit. She, in her turn, saw me, shivered and rethought her desire to leave abruptly, making a way back into the interior of the hospital after an internal nontransparent door. Yeah, thanks for the reminder, skittish. “Twilight, can you make sure that the staff won’t run away from me?” I addressed to the unicorn, which was gazing this situation with a sad stare. “I, of course, like their amusing escapes sometimes, but for now — let’s say I’m not in the mood to chase them.” “You like it?!” She has been either in awe or in dread. “It doesn’t matter now anyways…” She stopped herself on time. “I can try to warn them only. I hope it’d help… Wait for me here, okay?” Waiting for my nod, the magician entered the building. I followed her with a gaze until she disappeared behind the internal door. In the following minutes I exhausted myself even harder, trying to find such a pose, in which I could rest with relative comfort, but didn’t succeed. Every move, triggering pain, annoyed me even harder, but I couldn’t just lay down on the ground — I’d not get myself up after this. When Twilight finally returned, I was trying my best to not cry out loudly. “Nightmare, how are you?” She looked at me pitifully. “Let’s go.” I cringed wordlessly and nodded in answer forcedly and followed her. The hall of the hospital met me with bright pastel colors of the interior, a typical desk of registry and with an anxious silence, flying in the air, as soon as I entered. Medponies shrank into themselves behind the desk as if they were trying to be smaller; patients, waiting for their turn, turned pale and shaded, vaporizing somewhere deep in the hospital as soon as I turn my gaze to them. The only ones, which reacted more or less calmly, were a small herd of doctors in lab coats, and it seems that they’ve been waiting for me. Even still, their first reaction was really nervous: someone stepped back, someone swallowed loudly, someone’s whispered something under his breath. Only a middle-aged mare stood out — someone like “woman in her 40s” — which reacted only with a hardly-seen interest. A serious lady, respect. A pause hung. Honestly, I haven’t been expecting a whole medical board, preparing myself for this standard complications, like all these agreements about personal records, waiting for the queue and other usual things, and now I’m standing in some kind of confusion. The doctors were hesitating as well, not having desire to speak to me. Fat beige stallion mops his forehead every minute with a sleeve — yes, a sleeve! — of a lab coat; in the eyes of the mare near him, which has the palest and saddest look, I managed to read something like: “Please, go away! Please!” Before she turned her gaze away. Other medics looked the same, only the mentioned mare — unicorn with a bright-gray fur and crimson mane with streak of gray — looked like an isle of calmness, examining me with a distant-professional gaze without any wariness, let alone fear At the end of the day, she was the first one to pick words. “Colleagues, please, calm down. Get a hold of yourselves.” She addressed to the others. Strangely enough, her words succeeded in the task. “Good day, deary.” She turned to me. “What seems to be your problem?” Deary?! Me?! However, tastes differ: she likes me — I’m fine with it. And it’s not top priority right now. Let me be a “deary” — just heal me. “I’ve been beaten. Twice in one day.” Chuckling wryly, I marked my prehistory. “A bump on the left brow, a cheek is bitten until it bleeds and two good blows into the right side. Severe pain, causes troubles with walking, shoots in the right legs and wing.” “In the side? Does it disturb breathing? Is there a prickling when you inhale? Gurney, fast!” The fat one changed himself immediately after my story, crushing all the shyness and nervousness in a second. “I’m a traumatologist.” She answered on my unspoken question. “Broken Arm at your service.” I hummed. An interesting name. “No, I can breathe without problems. And the gurney is not needed — I’ll go myself.” “It’s better for you to get a pleasant pose lying and rest.” Doc insisted. “So let’s wait for the gurney and we’ll find out your problems.” “Fine, as you say.” I sighed. He knows best, I guess…

…

I woke up as if by a click — immediately, with a rush. Yeah, this is what I’ve been told when they put me into sleep with a spell in a ward. I was turning around on the bed for a bit, laying more comfortable. The side is still chill after inunction of some cream, also creating a light feeling of numbing. It worked, by the way — it almost doesn’t hurt. So they offered me to sleep a few hours, until this thing starts working. Generally, the attendance of the traumatology wasn’t well remembered by me: all this created mess around me stuck in the mind like separate parts. The gear and bags were given off to Twilight; when she heard that this is not a question for thirty minutes, she left and went home. After that, there was a wide, almost quadratic gurney for laying on side and the traumatology itself, where I was poked with crystals, doctors were shining with their horns and scowled busily. They worked at my forehead and rubbed in some thick creme, and after that I went into the ward to sleep a few hours. Generally, nothing serious happened to me — I’ve got only some bruises. Strangely enough, all thanks are going to Tia — her healing spell, which she casted on me day before yesterday, was still working, healing my yesterday’s wounds and, therefore, making the consequences of today’s RTA less severe. Arm didn’t exclude the possibility of me, laying for a long time in this ward in other case… Damn it, I wish I knew how to pay off all the things she’s done for me… Although Arm didn’t help me with the cheek, sending me to the dentist with this problem. But only after my calm sleep — to not disturb medicine’s process! I chuckled. When the doctors got into their known nature of healing their neighbor, they — not all, but for the most part — forced themselves to forget who the Mare in the Moon is and started to work. But they still kept some distance: they talked politely and debonairly, even with some dread, always warning me before casting a spell, that it’s not an attack, they wouldn’t hurt me and describing all the approximate feelings I can get after. Also, they recommended me to be medically examined here, to check presence of any other problems and create a normal patient chart… I didn’t decline it — I’ve been thinking about it since morning. It won’t go amiss, and they promised me that it wouldn’t be long: even if we count this sleep, I should be able to do everything until the evening; at least they said so… “YO-OU!!!” This furious call got me back into the real world. Yeah, this ward is for four, and when they drove me into it, one bed was occupied by someone — the neighbor was in a deep sleep, wrapping himself in a blanket with his head. I remember asking myself about his reaction on me… I turned to already known by voice neighbor, hazily understanding who, except me, can be laying in a ward of traumatology. From a next-door bed, Rainbow Dash, wrapped into a bandage across her body, looked at me angrily. What a meeting, damn it… “Me, as it strangely is. Well, you can congratulate yourself: you, even though not singlehandedly, managed to send me onto a gurney.” I chuckled awkwardly. “It is astonishing that they healed a villain.” Dash grunted. “It is.” I nodded too seriously. “You attacked me for no reason, beat me… It is really astonishing that they healed you, villain.” “You!… You!…” Pegasus started to gasp for air from the outrage. “You what? Isn’t it true?” I curved my brow. “If you don’t know, Celestia told me so much about friendship, about harmony… I almost had faith in it. And on the first meeting with pony outside the castle I was attacked. Bravo, you brightly demonstrated, that all these fairy-tales about friendship aren’t worth a bit. Princess will be proud of you.” “I saved a pony from you!” Scowled Rainbow. “Was I slamming her? Did I even elevate my voice?” I rolled my eyes pointedly. “You grabbed her with telekinesis! I’ve seen it!” The rainbow-maned firmly stands for her cause. “Then you also have seen the reaction of others on me. As it turned out, such alicorn as me cannot ask the way without use of telekinesis — it’s impossible without it.” I chuckled, adding a bit of pathos in the voice,. “Pf.” The pegasus grunted.” Your stupid excuses are…” “Are so convincing, that Princess Celestia didn’t even say an admonish.” I ended the sentence for her. She chuckled distrustfully as an answer. “The fact that Princess granted amnesty for you, for some reason, doesn’t mean that I must do the same.” She said after a small pause. “Just give me time to heal up and I’ll recall two broken ribs and no flights for a month! But start to look behind already, when walking down the street. Just in case.” Dash said to me with a curved smirk. Truly, don’t dig a grave — she will do it herself! She likes to dance on a rake? It’s not hard for me to repeat — just give me a reason… “We’ll see, painted.” A smile appeared along my entire face; I showed it to the stupid horse, putting down the desire to say a threat as an answer. “You’re the one who’s painted!” Grunting aggrievedly, Dash turned to a wall swiftly and started to pretend that she’s sleeping. Good night, yeah… However, loneliness wasn’t a long friend of mine: a medpony wedged in an open door — a young earth mare with white fur and pale-pink mane. “G-good day…” She greeted me shyly. “Miss… Ehm-m… Mistress… I mean…” Pony shrank her head into her shoulders. I was watching with interest, lifting a brow. “I meant… Oh, sorry, I… It’s…” “If you don’t know how to address to me — use my name.” I, finally, decided to help the poor mare. “Oh… Excuse me, please! I didn’t want to insult you!” She blushed cutely. “It’s fine, I can understand your problems. Unfortunately, my old title “Her Majesty Queen of Nightmares, ruler of Equestria, Nightmare Moon” isn’t relevant anymore, and I haven’t got a new one.” I sighed pretentiously, not being able to hold a joke. “Alas, but you’ll have to use my name only.” Medpony shivered, having now paleness instead of blush, and strangely enough, I can see it on her white fur. Rainbow chuckled nervously, twitching with her wing and wrapping in a blanket more thoroughly. I bit tongue, calling myself an idiot. God damn it, I just cannot calmly look how they all seek for cover in corners from me — it’s so tantalizing to troll or laugh at someone, adding more gas into the fire! I have failed to step back… “So, what do you want?” I started to talk seriously. “A-a? Em… S-sorry… I just wanted to say that there’s a visitor to you. You… Ehm… Do you want to spend a little bit of your time?” “Why not?” I tried to shrug with shoulders. “Let him in.” Medpony, nodding shortly, swiftly disappeared behind the door. Who’s there? Twilight or Pinkie? Except for them, no one would… I didn’t except to see this pony at all, which came in after a few seconds. Didn’t except for a second time, by the way: in the open door, an orange pegasus came in, with a string bag of apples in mouth. “Very sleeping” Dash, while still turned with her back to me, raised her ears towards our side, preparing to eavesdrop with a someone else’s conversation. It seems she doesn’t know the idiom “Curiosity killed the pony”… “Hi.” I said with a little bit of surprise to the pegasus. She came closer to a nightstand and got on her hind legs, putting her bag onto it. “Good day, Mare in the Moon… I just… I just brought some apples, yeah. They’re healthy, you’ll be healed in no time!” “You hadn’t…” I mumbled, barely understanding how to react on it. “I had to! I think it would be right.” Firm filly looked at me. “Thanks…” I remembered just in time, because no one said her name to me, so, cutting word in half, I stared at her with anticipating. “Scootaloo, miss Mare in the Moon.” Orange pegasus understood my gaze correctly. Rainbow Dash, on which I spied out of the corner of my eye, twitched, like she was shocked and turned to us abruptly. What the hell is going on with her? “Nightmare Moon.” I called my name in answer, extending a hoof to the pegasus, which dabbed it with hers. “Thanks, Scootaloo.” “Little one… You just…” A strained Dash voice sounded, and she looked at Scoot with a lost stare. Now it’s Scoot’s turn to twitch. “Rainbow?! A…Ehm… What are you doing here?” Laying back her ears, she started to rattle nervously. “What am I doing here? I will have been living here for a minimum of two weeks!” The pegasus rose up. “After a meeting with her!” I got a disdainful nod towards me. “And you bring apples to her, to “be healed in no time”!” Dash’s voice was full of grievance. Scoot shrank into herself, bitting her lip. I thought they’re not acquainted yet! But, judging by the reaction — they ARE acquainted, and Rainbow, mildly speaking, doesn’t understand, why her faithful fan came with presents to me, but didn’t to her! Damn, they’ll argue until death… “Sorry, Rainbow! I… I really didn’t know that you’re here! I’ve returned this morning.” The pegasus started to make excuses. “Wait, I’ll bring apples for you too! In a second…” “I don’t need your damned apples!” Dash screamed with feelings. “I don’t need anything!” Pegasus turned to the wall sharply, wrapping herself in a blanket with her head once again. “Rainbow, sorry, I didn’t…” Scoot came closer to the rainbow-colored’s bed. “Go away!” Was heard under the blanket hollowly, stopping the orange pegasus on half-word abruptly. Scootaloo slowly turned away. It was painful to look at the filly — there were tears in her eyes, ears were laid back to the head with sadness… Sweeping some lost gaze at me, she turned her stare to the floor meaninglessly. I wanted to cheer her up… The door opened, and Broken Arm broke into the ward with fast pace. “Good day, Nightmare! I’ve been told that you had awoken. How did you sleep? Is there any problem? Does the side hurt with severe pain?” The energetic pony threw questions at me. Scootaloo sneaked into the closing door soundlessly, like she wasn’t here at all. God damn you, doc! Could you entered in ten minutes?! I fucking hate this…

…

My mood was lower than Mariana trench after what happened, and, for some reason, a feeling was chasing me, telling that this quarrel is my fault. I snorted evilly — why the hell is this my fault? But barely crying poor Scootaloo couldn’t leave my head. And the apples she had brought were the best ones — I ate them with pleasure after the visit to the traumatologist… Arm, getting through my bad mood and straightforward answers, asked me, hastily examined and invited to his cabinet. I ended my examination there, and he said goodbye to me, giving me a medication form for a cream, ordering to come back in three-four days. I have to visit a dentist after this, and then another couple of doctors as part of my medical examination. I sighed and moved upstairs. With thoughts and following nervous patients and some doctors with a indifferent gaze, I made it to the study of local tooth puller. If there even was a queue to him, it just hid into hallways and other rooms, out of sight, so I calmly came closer to a door and knocked politely. “Come in!” A voice of a young stallion sounded behind the door. I entered the room. In the study, a pale-pink unicorn with acid-green mane was sitting — what a killing mix — and writing something. A lodgment with rests for head and medical lights was in the corner, and it was clear, that it’s geared up to lay on side. It has a reason, though — the pose is relatively comfortable and allows to keep your head steady without any strain. Meanwhile, the pony ended his writing, tossed his quill into an ink-pot, lifted his green eyes’ stare, the color of his mane, at me. I immediately got it by the pupils, widening from the fear: we’re not getting along. “Mother…” She said chokingly and, stepping back abruptly, fell off a stool on the floor, raising a laughter for me. “Stay calm, mister!” I nailed him to the floor with telekinesis slightly. “I just need to…” The unicorn’s horn glowed and a bright-green beam of magic tapped into me. Result of it was something like a punch to your horn: not a severe pain, mess in the head and the feeling of an impact wave inside. I just couldn’t hold the concentration and pony set himself free from my telekinesis, springing to his feet and running past me to the door with a shaking head. “MARE IN THE MOON!” His panic scream was already heard in the hallway. “RUN, YOU FOOLS!” What a fucking idiot! They specially warned everyone… Yeah, but this fine fellow was absent! Ah, fine: the side does hurt just a little bit now because of the creme, so I’ll heal my shitty mood with this panicmonger. You asked for it, he-he… I walked out of the office and trot along the corridor briskly, following the screams and panic.

…

Boo, damn it, we’ve got him… Instead of a funny tag game, there was a naturalistic chase with gunshots. Who knew that this young unicorn of a not serious look is a serious magician? And strangely enough — timid as hell: he didn’t scare just a bit — he basically hit the panic bottom. Stopping the doctor, who lost all sense of proportion, was a task for me, a few of unoccupied doctors and uncommunicative comrades from psychiatry. When it had only begun, I thought that I’ll chase him for a little bit, catch him with telekinesis, talk to him… When this mad lad started to throw benches at me with telekinesis right on the run, I have understood, that something is going on wrongly. Fortunately, no one was hurt and support came to rescue swiftly. It’s good that they got the situation right on the move — I wasn’t prepared to get my ass kicked by the doctors… Together, in fifteen minutes, the target was neutralized… Also, I ended up being in the psychiatry, so I was examined by the psychiatrist. Answered a few formal questions, then we started to discuss the recent chase — we were together there… Between ourselves, she said, that the dentist had some kind of a child trauma, and it’s tied to the fact that he was scared by evil Nightmare in the childhood, and it was such a deep wound, that he still keeps this memory… And all fine and dandy, but here I come bodily… I even felt sorry for him. However, I was told that nothing seriously scary happened: all the chaos is not critical; fortunately, there’s no wounded, and Shining Smile — the dentist — just needs a good sleep and recover. This is where it ended. Then it was a boring and plain walking, don’t even had to have something with me — the pony doctors were papering all themselves. The only one who was really interesting — a specific doctor-unicorn, compound word of whom I failed to remember. He, as always, turned red, turned pale, stuttered and hid his gaze during the examination, but didn’t try to get rid of me faster, but said something interesting. As it turned out, I have an unstable magic core now — it didn’t adapt to a new richness of magic on the Equus when compared to the Moon,. This is where all the problems with any hard magic constrictions come from. Taking the notes to not load the horn at full and, if it’s possible, use nothing more than telekinesis, I left the doc to take a cup of tea and to calm down and moved towards the end of this medical examination — some equalogist. Entering the last for today study, I saw the already known for me old unicorn behind a table, writing something thoughtfully with a quill in telekinesis’ field. “Wait a minute, deary, I end this and we’ll begin.” Medpony looked at me shortly, and it seems, that she completely doesn’t give a heck about a black alicorn in her room. What a temperance! “And nothing like: “Mare in the Moon! Run! Save yourselves!”? I remembered the dentist with a bit of humor. “You’re a mare.” Doctor chuckled, continuing to write. “And I, deary, can assure you, that I know something about mares, unlike some young dumbbells.” She marked a dot in the paper and rose from the table. “So, let’s take a look… Take a step aside to here, turn around, pull up your tail… “Turn around and pull up your tail”?! What she is going to look at… Oh, sh-hit! Something inside of me has been broken, I felt cold and discomfort. This is how I learned what does her name mean: “Gynecologist” on the local language! “Is this compulsory?” I asked nervously. “It is, deary. How we’ll make a patient chart, hm?” The unicorn curved her brow stiffly. “Come on, turn off the cover, bend down and pull up the tail. There’s nothing scary, you’re not in the dentist’s room.” “I wish I was.” I mumbled silently, swallowing viscous saliva with force and turning my back to the mare. “Ah… What the “cover” is?” I looked back at her, brightening up at the possibility of gaining time before the horrors. You can’t postpone death by taking a deep breath… “Oh, deary.” Medpony shook her head with a sigh. “It was hard for you on the Moon, if you even don’t remember so basic things… Cover — also named concealing spell — is, what some call, a world spell, one of the laws of the Universe. This is responsible for not making it possible for others, except the owner, to see… Some things. It can be turned off and on just by force of will, wishing it to not be seen or to be seen respectively. Or, as a variation, it fades away during arousal.” The mare explained with patience. “Enough of lectures. Bend down.” The mare commanded softly, but firmly. “I don’t want to-o-o!!!” I cried out in my mind, swallowing fitfully again and sweeping a haunted look across the study. At the end of the day, making the decision, after a few long-lasting seconds, I doubled up my wobbly legs, satisfying other demands as well. “Here you go! And nothing hard, deary, yes?” A voice in the back said with satisfaction. “So-o, let’s take a…” In the next moment I shivered from the touch, clenching teeth firmly at the same time, trying to not make any sound. Fucking shi-i-it! “Why are you so nervous, deary?” The unicorn asked somewhat perplexedly and with pity. “Your first time, I guess? It’s fine, everyone is nervous during the first time. You’ll get used to it, don’t worry.” Thanks, damn you, now I’m in the finest form of existing! And what if I’m nervous about the “get used to” itself — what to do?! I clenched my teeth even harder and closed my eyes tightly, prevailing over a new portion of touches, feeling the burning of my cheeks. There were only loud silent and shock in my head. “And that’s all.” The medpony said finally after a few endless minutes. “And there’s nothing scary in it, is there, deary?” I somehow stood up on the wobbly legs, wishing to activate the covering magic at the same time — and, with an unbelievable relief, I understood that it works. “Everything is good.” The mare assured me with a satisfied smile. “I can’t promise you, an alicorn, kids, but if you, deary, show an extraordinary effort in this — maybe you’ll be lucky!” She gave a wink at me. “Well, you can go now — I see you’re in a hurry. See you next time, deary!” I nodded in answer nervously and bleated something that should have been a farewell, falling over the doorstep at the exit and almost went with my head over my heels. Heart in the chest was beating like a steam hammer, cheeks were on fire and you could use it as a lighter, wobbly legs were getting confused with each other, an absolute cacophony of feelings and thoughts was in my head, and in the soul — an unseen, until now, disorder. Oh, damn it… But… What a nasty woman: “If you show an extraordinary effort in this”! A picture stood before me, where I, accompanied by Big Mac, with distinctive moans and screams, show “an extraordinary effort”… “Fucking shit!!!” I screamed aloud, shaking head rabidly, feeling that my ears are starting to turn crimson, in addition to the cheeks. Roaring at a random pony, that looked at me with her scared eyes in shock, I ran to the stairs. I must run, and I must do it the fastest! If only I knew the road… Fine, the locals got used to me a little, don’t run away en masse… I’ll ask this stallion about this… “He wouldn’t refuse to help a mare, if she shows an extraordinary effort, would he?” The same picture with Big Mac appeared before my eyes. Damned horse! She said it on purpose, I fucking know it!!! “Don’t like Mac — think about another stallion…” “ARG-G-H-H!!!”